One Dance
by Amongst-Azarath
Summary: He loves Barbara, but he can't help wishing that this one dance was with Artemis. Traught.


_Traught is taking over my life. I'm sorry. And so is Drake. Thank Drake for this story._

 _This is a pretty rushed one, finished in a couple of hours. There's a few mistakes and some things that kinda don't make sense. Soz._

 _I'm not American, so I've never been to a prom. Please forgive me if I've described it all wrong._

 _Disclaimer: Don't own._

 ** _Read, enjoy and plz plz review :)_**

 _~Aa_

* * *

 _ **One Dance**_

He brings the red cup to his lips. He wishes it was alcoholic, but unfortunately school proms didn't really allow that kind of thing - otherwise known as underage drinking. The liquid touches his tongue and its sweet; a weird concoction of mango, pineapple and a few other sweet fruits. He swallows and his cup is finally empty. It's a sad sight, seeing the bottom of that cup; it was the only thing keeping him occupied. Now he was bored and drinkless.

His other wrist rises into the air as his eyes take a quick glimpse at his bulky, g-shock looking watch. It had been exactly eight minutes since his date, Barbara, had ditched him. She had been whisked away by a hoard of ladies practically sprinting for the bathroom. She had rolled her eyes at him and informed him that 'boy problems' was the likely theme. She was apparently only going to be five minutes, but he guaranteed a good fifteen to twenty minutes was a better estimate. He could only imagine the tears and drama escalating in the ladies bathroom right now.

He definitely needs to entertain himself, plus he isn't really keen on looking like a loner, sticking to the outskirts of the function room. He sighs as he begrudgingly moves from his post. He begins his stroll through the crowd as his eyes survey the faintly moving mob on the dance floor.

He can feel the bass of the music vibrating through the floor, reverberating up through his feet and pulsing through his whole body. The DJ was definitely going all out tonight, pumping out popular banging tunes through a well thought out sound system that definitely should not have been wasted on some school prom. The room is dim, with flashes of colour spraying from the elaborate laser light set up hanging from the ceiling at each of the four corners of the dance floor. Gotham academy never disappointed when it came to events, especially Junior/Senior proms.

He skirts around the edge of the dance floor and his eyes catch the sight of multiple couples taking the art of dancing to a new level. They're thrashing themselves amongst the crowd on the dance floor, uncaring of the multiple eyes gazing over them in a judging fashion. He also notes a tame couple on the outer edge of the dance floor, fresh and awkward as they clumsily bob along to the music afraid of looking anything other than normal to each other.

He's nearing the drinks table now; it's large variety spanned over a large trestle table clearly in his sights, only hidden behind a few clustering groups of people.

He smirks faintly at the sight of a row of chairs pressed up against the back wall, a couple of steps behind and to the left of the drinks table. He presumes the chairs are meant to be there as a kind of 'time out' from the dance floor, but another couple have claimed it as the perfect spot for making out. They're all over each other, way too eager and frisky, as they're hands dance all over each other and their mouths salivate all over each other's faces. He can see a teacher nearby turning a blind eye, struggling to contain his chuckles.

He's almost at the table as the song fades out. Loud chatter and constant noise fills the almost ballroom like venue. A new song fades back in, and it's obviously popular by the cheers, screams and whoops that erupt from the crowd. A few girls almost crash into him as they sprint for the dance floor. He easily avoids the disaster by swiftly curving around them with incredible speed.

He arrives at the drink table and he feels like he should congratulate himself for arriving in one piece. He ques behind another student who is also inline for the strangely addictive sweet punch. After a moment he finally gets to the large bowl jammed in amongst a jumble of cups and other assorted containers of drinks. He looks up and there's a brawny teacher looming over the bowl. His eyes are wide, carefully watching Dick grab the ladle. Dick swiftly heaps a large spoonful of the mixture into his red cup before sliding out of the teacher's hard gaze.

Dick takes a quick glimpse of the space around him, searching for familiar faces. However there is none. He takes the chance for alone time before he inevitably ends up back with Barbara, surrounded by his friends goofing off on the dance floor.

He goes for the line of chairs against the back wall, taking a seat far, far away from the still face sucking couple from earlier. He leans his back against the chair, his left leg stretching out. His hand goes for his suit jacket. His fingers glide over the buttons, freeing himself from the tightly fitted fabric. Both flaps of his jacket slide away to his sides, revealing a crisp white shirt and a thin, ironically deep navy tie.

His hand instinctively brings his red cup to his mouth, downing a gulp of the sugary punch, which he notices is slightly less sweet than the last batch. He delves into his usual eye spy game – an ingrained response in large crowds.

His eyes quickly catch something he's never seen before. His jaw slackens and his eyes widen. He's actually gawking at the sight. It's Artemis – in a dress – well sort of – and she looks absolutely stunning. The dress is a deep shade of red and it's long, almost touching the floor. It looks like a modern twist on a traditional Vietnamese áo dài. It has a high neck and long lace sleeves, beautifully beaded in a pattern he can't quite make out. The dress splits at either side of her waist, revealing a pair of matching red flowy pants underneath – something he knew Artemis would've instantly preferred over a dress. It's obviously a nod to her mother and to her heritage. Her long blonde tresses cascade over her shoulder, tamed and straight. Her face is bronzed, but her eyes are darkened – and he's simply never seen her like this before.

He always thought she looked beautiful naturally, and not that she wasn't beautiful tonight either - she looked stunning regardless of what she wore. The way she constantly surprised him like this, proving him wrong consistently, making him see her from different angles, was so beautiful to him. The way she carried herself was so striking. She was always so brutally honest and unabashedly herself in every situation. She owned everything she did, regardless of her mistakes and she didn't doubt herself; it wasn't in her vocabulary. He loved all of that about her.

She was owning herself tonight, and it was impossible to look away.

She's swinging her hips dangerously, her dress following swiftly a second behind. Her arms entangle themselves as they glide through the air around her. Her body rolls and sways, organically moving to the beat. She spins, her dress twirling as she does so. She drops a little, rolling her hips slowly and he's completely mesmerised by her feminine moves. The beat drops and she's suddenly dancing like nothing he's ever seen before. Her feet twist, her knees bend and she's undulating and grinding her hips with such skill it makes him wonder why she wasn't being pursued by every guy in her year level. Her upper half follows, popping and snapping, and he can't help but notice how tight her dress is around her chest. Her hands spring into the air before they twirl and glide down either side of her body. He can't deny that she looks so sexy. His gawking fades, but he's still so captivated by her movements.

One of her friends in a short black dress steps in front of her, blocking his view. He frowns, but doesn't move to catch sight of her again. The girl grinds up against Artemis for a few seconds before she sways to one side, her face bursting into a smile. Artemis follows suit, her face grinning, her teeth on show. She doubles over a little in laughter for a few moments. She flicks her blonde hair back out of her face as she straightens up, her eyes accidentally scanning the room as her grin stays on her lips.

She locks eyes with Dick and he's not sure what to do. He can't look away, that's way too obvious. He can't brush it off, they know each other too well. Her dancing slows to an almost standstill. Her smile fades, but there's a pleasant look on her face, almost as if she's about to smile.

The timing is just way too coincidental as the song fades out and the lights dim even further. Those laser lights fade into a deep shade of red, projecting onto the crowd, giving everyone an ardent crimson glow.

"So it's that time of the night, ladies and gentlemen," the DJ booms over his crystal clear mic, "find a partner, cause it's time for a slow dance."

The crowd goes wild as everyone scatters on and off the dance floor, scrambling to find their significant other. A slow beat consumes the large room.

Artemis and Dicks' eyes stay locked on each other, neither of them moving. He should be looking for Barbara, but he isn't. She should be looking for her partner, but she isn't. Their lack of attention to anyone else but each other is saying more than words ever could right now.

Their moment is ruined as Artemis' dark haired date for the night swoops in. He snakes a hand around her waist and pulls her in tight. He slowly sways from side to side, slowly spinning the blonde in a circle. She takes a long glimpse at Dick. Her look is strained, but somewhat yearning at the same time. He blinks and now her face is inscrutable.

She looks downcast, signally the end of their moment.

His forehead furrows and he can't explain the disappointment he suddenly feels. He wishes it wasn't like this – the fact that they have to hide that they're best friends outside the superhero-verse. With him and Barbara, it was different. They had been friends from day one, and now they fooled everyone by partially pretending that they were in some sort of relationship, just to explain why they hung out so much outside of school.

His eyes snap back into focus and he can see Barbara in her long, strapless olive green dress approaching him. She winks at him and he smiles. It's a genuine response, because of her wink, albeit fake at the same time, wishing this dance didn't go to her. But he could never say that out loud. Ever.

He gets to his feet, leaving his half full red cup on the floor next to his chairs. He goes to her, and in true Dick, gentlemen fashion he slides a steady hand around her waist as he guides her to the dance floor. He smiles at her. In everyone's eyes, this is perfection. What they have is perfection. But it's all ultimately a lie, one that, for once, he wishes he didn't have to tell.

They get to the edge of the dance floor and Dick grabs Barbara's hand, pulling her in close to him. She doesn't speak as she lets herself fall under his control. She looks happy as they sway to the slow beat. His eyes flicker from hers to the image of Artemis and her date a few couples behind them.

He loves Barbara, but he can't help wishing that this one dance was with Artemis.


End file.
